Buying A New Furnace

Who doesn’t like saving a few dollars? Do you have a gas furnace?

According to the Energy Information Agency, the drop in natural gas prices expected this year will reduce home heating costs to about $671 per home! That is about $50 less than last year. With the prices of everything going up, it is nice to see the price of one thing going down! If you use oil heat, you are looking at spending $2,383! If you have oil heat, now is the time to get a new furnace! Here is a few things to do before getting a new furnace:

1. Get referrals. Call your friends and family and find out what kind of furnace they have. What do they like about it? What don’t they like? (Yes, there are features that people absolutely hate and wish they never got). Plus, you want to find out what heating and cooling contractors they used. Was it a good company? Was it a company that will do whatever it takes?
2. Get several estimates and compare apples to apples.  Make sure you get your quotes in writing.  Unfortunately, there are some bad companies out there that will give you a verbal quote at one price and write another price on your contract.  You don’t want that surprise.
3. Check for rebates.  The federal government, local states, local cities, and even utilities often have rebates that you can get if you upgrade to a higher efficiency furnace.  Check with all of these, because they can save you money!
4. Read reviews on the new furnace that your heating and cooling company wants to install.  The more information you have at your fingertips, the better you will feel about deciding which furnace is best for your home.
5. Don’t wait until your furnace dies to start shopping.  If your furnace is over 20 years old, you want to be looking now.  If your furnace dies in the winter when it is 20 below zero, you do not have time to do any research.  At that point, you are needing someone to come out now and fix it immediately.  You won’t have time to research anything and you may end up with a furnace purchase you aren’t happy with.

What better time to replace your furnace than when there is a drop in natural gas prices? The money you save can be put towards your new high efficiency furnace (which will also save you money!).